Related
Stories
 |
| The vote to renew whaling quotas may have gone differently had nations not applied as a bloc |
Whaling
quotas for indigenous groups in Alaska, Russia and the Caribbean were renewed
at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual meeting.
The vote
came despite questions over whether the bid from St Vincent and the Grenadines
qualified under IWC rules.
A bid for
similar quotas in Greenland has yet to be debated.
Aboriginal
subsistence whaling (ASW) is allowed if indigenous peoples have a
"nutritional and cultural need" and there is no danger to whale
stocks.
The debate
saw heated exchanges involving an allegation from the St Kitts and Nevis
delegate, Daven Joseph, that the mainly Latin American countries seeking to
block the bid were "bordering on racism".
"Small
nations are being singled out," he said.
"If
[St Vincent and the Grenadines] are hunting for four humpback whales each year
from a population of 10,000, who gives the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Chile
or Costa Rica the right to tell St Vincent how to use the whales?"
But others
said that the bid should not qualify under ASW rules because the Bequians, the
group that maintains the hunt, are not truly indigenous.
Whaling
"started by a settler's family as recently as a 1875 does not qualify as
'aboriginal'," argued Monaco's Frederic Briand.
"So we
may ask a fundamental question - is there a justification for further approval
of this quota?"
Louise
Mitchell Joseph, speaking on behalf of the Eastern Caribbean Coalition of Environmental
Awareness, said there was no documented history of whaling in the islands.
"There
have been many archaeological excavations conducted, and there was no evidence
found whatsoever of whale hunting by aboriginal peoples," she said.
"Neither
whale remains nor weapons that could have been used to kill such a large
mammals were ever found; neither are any images of whales inscribed on our
petroglyphs."
Success in
triplicate
Peter
Sanchez, speaking for the Dominican Republic, said the hunt was "artisanal
whaling out of control".
"[The
hunters have] repeatedly broken the rules - hunting for young ones and pregnant
females," he said.
 |
| At issue is for how long - or even if - aboriginal peoples have hunted whales |
"We
recognise the needs of indigenous peoples in the US and Russia but we cannot
support the [joint] request by all three countries."
A number of
delegations clearly felt the same way, clarifying that they would have voted
against the St Vincent hunt if the three nations had presented their bids
separately.
But with
the vote overwhelmingly in favour by a margin of 48 to 10, it was evident that
few had the will to force the joint resolution into its component parts.
Governments
have to apply for ASW quotas every five years, though the current batch may
last for six if, as anticipated, IWC members decide in future to hold their
meetings every two years.
The vote
means that Alaskan Inupiat retain their quota of 56 bowhead whales each year.
Russian
indigenous peoples in Chukotka in eastern Siberia will continue to hunt 120
gray whales annually, while the Bequians retain their annual right to four
humpbacks.
A separate
resolution submitted by Denmark on behalf of Greenland is requesting an
expansion of the quotas currently enjoyed by Inuit communities, enhancing the
take of humpback and fin whales on the grounds that people need more whalemeat.
But some
nations, including other EU members, are concerned by a recent report that
found whalemeat on sale to tourists, raising questions over whether the
Greenlanders really need quotas as large as those they currently have.
The EU is
supposed to maintain a united front in forums such as the IWC, and a joint
position is being agreed back in Brussels, with a decision anticipated on
Wednesday.
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.